


A Tool In A Killer's Hand

by effected



Category: Arthurian Mythology, Merlin (TV)
Genre: BAMF Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Sword Fighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28211328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/effected/pseuds/effected
Summary: “Where in the hell did you learn to wield a sword like that?”-Or when the knights finally see how good of a fighter Merlin actually is.
Relationships: Gwaine/Merlin (Merlin), Lancelot/Merlin (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 327





	A Tool In A Killer's Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Arthur is king, Lancelot's alive, Merlin's magic is secret.

A Sword Is A Tool In A Killer’s Hand

Merlin knew how to use a sword. After ten years of joining Arthur on every training session, seeing all the knights’ different techniques, and having to participate in more than he’d like, Merlin was somewhat of an expert. He could easily defend himself using one if he needed to, although he preferred his falling tree branches. It’s because of this that all the knights, including Arthur, laugh at him when he wields a sword, or talks about fighting bandits. 

“I’m perfectly capable of defending myself!” Merlin complained. 

“From what? The rabbits hiding behind trees with you?” Arthur chimed back. 

Merlin scoffed. If only they knew, he thought to himself. 

They had gone on hunting for a little while longer when Arthur called to make camp. As always, Merlin was the one to get all the supplies down, start the fire, get supper going, and feed and water the horses. By the time he got back from feeding the horses, there wasn’t any food left for him, as per usual. He didn’t really mind it at this point. The amount of food he ate in Camelot is a luxury compared to Ealdor. He always packed himself some extra bread and picked some berries on the way anyways. 

\---

They all woke up to Elyan yelling at them to wake up. Everyone popped up in an instant. The knights all grabbed their swords and Merlin felt his magic brimming at the surface, ready to pop up and any second. 

Merlin heard something land in front of him, like a rock, and then it exploded in a cloud of smoke, resulting in everyone passing out.

\---

“Well, well, look who we have here.” The knights (and Merlin) were slowly waking up. All seven of them were in a prison cell that looked as if it were made for one. 

Arthur and Leon, being trained since birth, were the first to recover and jump right up. Arthur went up to the bars, where on the other side was the man who spoke to them at first. “What the hell do you want with us.”  
“Knights of Camelot. I thought you would be so much more.”

This made Lancelot angry. “Oh really? And who would you be to stake such a claim?”

“Why I am Terrowin.”

Merlin recognized this name. He had heard reports of him from other servants who had family in other kingdoms. “The Terrowin? The one who kidnapped knights from all the kingdoms to see who is truly worthy?” Everyone looked at Merlin like he was crazy. 

“Ah, good to know people all the way in Camelot know who I am. But from the looks of it, you’re no knight. Pity, you seem smart.”

Gwaine was next to speak. “What are you doing with us.”

“Exactly as your friend here said. You all are going to fight one another to see who is truly the best.”

Everyone paused. Leon recovered quickly, “If you think for a second we would ever kill each other-”

“Woah there, who said anything about killing one another?”

“If not to the death, then what are the fights for?”

“Well for glory and honor of course. And for my fun.”

“Of course,” Arthur murmured to himself. He turned his head around and landed on Merlin. Then he looked back at Terrowin. “Merlin is no knight. He should be released.”

“Arthur, no-” Merlin started, but all the other knights immediately agreed with Arthur, not wanting to see their friend hurt and embarrassed. 

“Mmm,” Tarrowin pretended to think about it, “how about, no. Anyone who travels with the knights of Camelot, especially the knights of the round table, wearing nothing but a thin jacket should be able to protect himself. Although, he doesn’t even carry a sword, so his fight’ll be over before it’s even begun.”

They all began to argue but Tarrowin put up his hand, signaling for them to stop. “Anyways, I’ll be back in an hour to pick the first two to fight.” Tarrowin turned to leave before turning back around and saying, “Oh, and you’ll all have to watch it happen.” Then he left. 

The knights stood too stunned to say anything. 

“How are we going to do this?” Percival asked. 

“We have to let Arthur win,” Leon answered.

“Let me win?” Arthur replied, rather offended. 

“I meant no offence, sire, it’s just that we can’t have the King of Camelot seeming weak.”

“You don’t think that man will be able to tell if we’re holding back,” Lancelot said this time. 

“Lancelot’s right,” Merlin started, “everyone has to fight as hard as they can, no matter what the outcome. He already said he’s not looking for death, so what’s the big deal if Arthur doesn’t win this faux tournament.”

“Well we wouldn’t expect you to understand, Merlin,” Arthur said. “You’ve never even fought in a tournament before. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fight outside of the times I force you to for training. In fact, it would probably be most beneficial to you if you got out as early as you could.”

Merlin scoffed, “And why would I do that? I thought we just agreed Tarrowin would be able to tell if we were holding back.”

“Sure, Merlin, fight to your heart’s content,” Arthur replies, rather sarcastically. All of the knights, outside of Lancelot, had never seen Merlin properly fight with a sword, which is why they were all as quick as Arthur to assume that he had no idea how to. Oh, were they in for a treat. 

\---

The first round was Elyan versus Lancelot. Lancelot won because of how long he had been training to become a knight of Camelot, whereas Elyan got most of his experience from being the blacksmith’s son. 

Gwaine versus Leon was a very close one. Leon won due to the amount of experience he had over Gwaine. And most of Gwaine’s experience came from bar fights. 

Because there were an odd number of people, Arthur, being the king, was exempt from the first round, leaving Merlin versus Percival. No one expected it to go as it did, least of all Merlin. Merlin had watched all of the knights train for years and years, and he picked up on their fighting styles and weaknesses. It was more of a subconscious thing than not, but Merlin easily evaded Percival’s strong swings and was able to go for his side, which he failed to guard properly most of the time. That fight was over the fastest, with Merlin victorious. 

“Well there you go. Seems as if the manservant has something to show after all.”

\---

When they got back in the cell, Arthur couldn’t believe what he had witnessed. 

“Where in the hell did you learn to wield a sword like that?”

“Oh come on Arthur.”

“No, seriously, I’ve never seen anyone take down Percival that quickly.”

“It’s true, Merlin, you fought very well,” Percival said, only feeling slightly embarrassed that he lost to a servant. 

It seemed as if all the knights were looking at Merlin for an explanation. He sighed. “I don’t really know, okay? But I’ve been watching you guys train for years now. It’s really not that hard to pick up on your styles and weaknesses.”

\---

When they had to go back up again, Arthur went against Lancelot. The fight went on for a while; Lancelot and Arthur were usually sparring partners so they knew how to hold up against the other. But, in the end, Arthur won. Lancelot had taught himself how to fight as if he were a Camelot knight, but Arthur had grown up being taught by actual Camelot knights. 

In Merlin versus Leon, the fight went on a little longer than Merlin’s last fight. Leon was able to adapt to many different things, and Merlin had to switch styles multiple times. However, Leon wasn’t used to people switching styles so easily like Merlin had, leaving Merlin victorious.

\---

“You fought admirably, Merlin,” Leon said, almost too impressed with the man’s skills to be upset about losing. “I’ve never seen anyone switch between fighting styles so easily before.”

“Yeah, but you all fight very differently, with the exception of Arthur and Leon, so I picked up on them all, I guess.”

Arthur didn’t say anything. After seeing Merlin take down Leon, he was worried, even if he would never admit it. 

\---

Arthur and Merlin were circling each other, each waiting for the other to strike. Merlin knew Arthur’s style best, but he also knew he would be the hardest to beat. Merlin was considering letting Arthur win not to break his precious pride, but he was scared if Terrowin would be able to tell. 

As if they could read each other’s minds, they both struck at the same time. The fight went on for what seemed like forever. Merlin tried switching between other people’s fighting styles, but ended up fighting Arthur as if he were another Arthur. 

They kept clashing swords over and over and over again until Arthur was able to knock the sword out of Merlin’s hand, declaring himself the victor.

\---

Terrowin let them go after, commenting on how much of a fighter that boy was that he could almost defeat the king. Arthur agreed. He didn’t know how Merlin was able to get so good from watching training from the sidelines, but no more. Merlin was now going to join them in all their training sessions (he would make a great sparring partner) and carried a sword around. None of the knights objected.

Merlin, however, felt strange. It was weird being in on the action instead of on the sides. It was also strange to actually fight when bandits appeared, rather than using his magic. But it did feel nice to be appreciated, and even if he hated showing off his sword fighting abilities, Merlin was content with the way things were now.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how sword fighting works but I hope you enjoyed this quick little fic. I know it's not really the best but I was feeling inspired to write something like this.


End file.
